WHAT: Shenkar College of Engineering and Design of Israel and the University of Massachusetts Lowell will sign a historic agreement establishing an international graduate program in plastics engineering.

The new program will offer graduate study of plastics that includes emerging fields such as nanotechnology and the use of polymers for environmental, medical and industrial purposes. The international agreement will also provide for an annual exchange program for students and faculty from both institutions.

UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan and Shenkar College President Yuli Tamir will participate in the signing of the agreement, along with Danna Azrieli, chairman of the Board of Governors of Shenkar College; Bruce Pernick, Board of Governors member and president of the American Committee for Shenkar College in Israel; Prof. Stephen McCarthy of UMass Lowell’s Plastics Engineering Department and co-director of the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2); Prof. Shmuel Kenig, dean of the engineering faculty of Shenkar College; and other leaders from UMass Lowell and Shenkar College.

The special event will also include the presentation of an honorary fellowship to Meehan, a former congressman, and the Frontiers in Science Award to David Pernick, a UMass Lowell alumnus and life chancellor of Shenkar College, for his role in spearheading the new agreement. Pernick has made significant contributions to forwarding education in plastics engineering at both Shenkar College and UMass Lowell.